


Shades of Red

by Officer_Jennie



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-07 12:59:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11059485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Officer_Jennie/pseuds/Officer_Jennie
Summary: The lines between his nightmares and reality blur. Whose blood is on his hands? Or is the blood real at all? Itachi spirals into the depths of madness, his only anchor driving him further into hell. Yaoi, incest, graphic death, potential rape, potential underage. I don't own Naruto, and no one wants me to.





	1. Faces

In this world, outlines blurred and faded. Faces changed from familiar to foreign in an instant, detailed to distant to hazy. Some nights, he was home, held up against the wall by his throat, blood pooling beneath him from his parents' bodies - other nights, there was no landscape, nothing for miles and miles, no where to hide, to lick his swelling wounds. 

One thing remained constant: Pain. 

Pain never dulled here. Wounds never healed, only festered. Bruises stayed dark reminders, gashes and scrapes burning deeper than any Fire. 

Time, as everything else here, fizzled, inconsistent. A kunai cutting through his flesh could take hours, then the wound would swell and fester instantly, the fever burning his blood like honey flowing through his veins. 

Here, he saw the true nature of the world. Buildings burned, whole villages decaying around him. The only colour he saw was red - distant faces glowed with red eyes and teeth, waterfalls coagulated like the blood they resembled. He felt himself melting into the darkness, flesh slipping off his muscles and bones. 

At times, he thought he belonged here - here, among the unnamed faces, grinning into eternity, sated only by the pain he could bring others. Was this not where humans belonged?

'All but one.'

He closed his eyes, giving into the pull against his body, floating back into his hell. 

'There is one face I will never see here...'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, I know. It's main purpose is to force me to write. I figured, if I post the first chapter, I'll be motivated to continue writing. 
> 
> I've already started on the second chapter. In case it wasn't obvious who was dreaming and everything, read the description of the story - that should help. Anyway, I know the general direction I'm gonna take this story, but any suggestions are always welcome. Until next time, peace!


	2. Façade

"I woke up here, on the crowded seats of a bus

 I was a husk."

\- Husk by Dry the River

* * *

 

A small body slammed down onto his own, jerking his consciousness back to reality. A ninja's instincts would have him grabbing the kunai beneath his futon, aiming for the throat or stomach. But different instincts held Itachi still as small hands pressed against his chest, pushing the small form up off of him. He cracked his eyes open, feigning laziness, peering up at his 'foe.'

Sasuke's face floated above his own, coal eyes shinning. The state of his hair gave his eagerness away - the boy hadn't bothered brushing it before rushing into his nii-san's room. A grin spread across Sasuke's face as their eyes met. giggling, Sasuke started bouncing with excitement - something Itachi swore he did subconsciously, still a child, still unable to hide his burst of energy and emotion.

'Stay this way.' Itachi sighed, barely deeper than a normal breath. He was safe. They both were - for now.

"Nii-san, it's time to get up!" Suddenly impatient, Sasuke pouted and climbed off of Itachi, grabbing the covers and flinging them aside. Papers and pens from the meticulously managed desk across from his bed scattered across the floor. Itachi watched the seemingly chaotic movements calmly, his mind knowing where the objects would land without any conscious effort or focus. Each paper floated down where he predicted, the pens colliding at the exact angle he foresaw, one rolling into the wall before stopping at the foot of the futon, another continuing towards the door -

"Oops..." Sasuke stood staring at the mess he'd made, obviously embarrassed at ruining the perfectly kept room. Too flustered for words - a rare occurrence, perhaps even a first. But here he was, after barging into his nii-san's room - a place he was scolded for entering whenever his parents caught him, though Itachi typically didn't mind the intrusions - and he had already caused irreversible damage to some important document or other.

Truly, Itachi thought, his otouto was precious. If only this could be the worst scenario he could ever imagine. 'Let this be the worst.' A light scolding from his brother, then a normal day ahead, blood and fear an unknown foe far in the background of his story.

'Let this be the worst his future holds.'

Itachi allowed a silent pause. Sasuke squirmed in his periphery, uncertain. Then, with one smooth movement, Itachi was up, gathering the misplaced materials and replacing them in their correct order. He considered leaving the covers crumpled on the floor, but knew it would nag at him all day.

Only a minute wasted correcting the mess. A scolding was hardly necessary. Instead, Itachi peered down at his otouto, realizing he had forgotten something. Perhaps he had promised a training session? No one's birthday was today, and Sasuke had the day off from school. Itachi's next mission wasn't for another few days. But, then again, Sasuke hadn't grabbed any training equipment before waking him. Would he have thought to do so? He shrugged inwardly, deciding on neutral grounds in hopes of not disappointing his otouto.

"What do you wish to do today, otouto?" At the brilliant smile he received, Itachi knew his plan had worked.

* * *

 

"I'm just surprised you've not mentioned her before, that's all." Shisui flopped to the ground next to Itachi, panting, all of the grace and lethality he had shown in their training session missing from his body in an instant. His eyes, one moment burning stone, ruby and onyx, deadly; the next, laughing and wide - but still hesitant, still solid rock beneath the surface.

'Which is real?'

"Especially since you've known her for so long. Unless..." Shisui paused, frowning, staring at Itachi through the corner of his eye. They were both still exhausted, coming down from the adrenaline high coursing through their veins. Ever concerned about appearances, Itachi had already forced his breathing and heartbeat to slow, forced himself back in control.

He wasn't interested in this conversation. Shisui had tried to start it earlier as well, shortly before they had started for the night - physical exertion had never made sleep any easier on him, but it forced him to stay under for the night. He had found out the hard way too many times that he had to deal with hell. There was no use trying to avoid it. He had to sleep.

"She seemed really fond of you."

Itachi sighed. It seemed Shisui really wasn't willing to let this one go. "As you said, we've known each other for a while."

Itachi had met Izumi several years before, the young girl vehemently defending her family's honor against those suspecting the Uchiha of treason. She showed an inner strength that he admired greatly. He spoke with her on several occasions about his concerns with the clan - something he felt he could never do with Shisui. As close as they were, he was still keenly aware of their age difference. Certain respect had to be shown, certain boundaries obeyed.

"So you're fond of her then."

Itachi's breath had evened out, the sweat coating his body the only obvious sign he was exhausted. Shisui still breathed heavily, his face flushed. Underneath his lax pose, his body was still on guard, still ready to strike - something Itachi had missed before. Training sharpened their skills; dull senses, reflexes, were nearly as bad as none at all.

What was Shisui so curious about?

Itachi's silence was taken as his answer. Frowning, Shisui pushed himself back up, brushing the dust off of himself. "Same time tomorrow?" He spoke softly to the woods, then walked away before the answer, shoulders stiff and strong, stride confident and relaxed all at once.

'Sharp knives are always prepared to strike.' Itachi closed his eyes, leaning against the sakura at his back, breathing in the summer afternoon.

 

 

 

"Don't bother, actually."

Itachi's eyes shot open - he hadn't heard Shisui's return. Whatever answer he had gathered from Itachi's silence had been the wrong one. Shisui's body was a mixture of movement and stiffness, his face expressionless, voice rough, hands jittery while his feet stayed grounded, knees barely bent as if prepared to pounce at a moment's notice. He blended into the shadows nearly perfectly, the moonlight only reaching half of his face, ghostly eerie along with the silent woods around them. 'When had the sun gone down?'

He hadn't been wrong. Shisui pounced, a kunai appearing in his left hand. Perhaps it was too dark to really see, or maybe trust held him still - Itachi didn't react in time. His body didn't react at all until the blade cut deep into his left thigh and Shisui's form was slamming into him, pinning his hands above him against the sakura.

The air was pushed out of his lungs too quickly. He tried to breathe and only coughed, his throat burning as if he'd swallowed boiling water. He felt the blood from his thigh soaking warm into his pants, his vision too blurry to focus down on the damage - was he going into shock already? He knew he had to calm down. It would hurt, but he had to fight it.

A sharp twist, then a scream. He felt the muscles in his leg tearing, blood pooling beneath him. He managed to meet Shisui's eyes - confused and crazed, red and black and cold.

Shisui's movement were slow and deliberate then. He wanted Itachi to see, to know what was coming. He pulled a second kunai out from the pouch at his waste, licking the blade slowly, eyes fluttering closed as if it tasted like honey - then he stared at it, twirling it for a moment, allowing the moon to reflect on the blade before driving it through Itachi's palms.

Any movement could cause permanent damage. He was stuck there, Shisui looming over him, blood running down his arms, dripping into his hair. A breeze drifted through, chilling him further, the smell of tree sap and salt on the wind. He saw the breeze take his blood, droplets landing around them on the grass and roots of the sakura.

"Spring came a bit late this year, ne?" Shisui's eyes were laughing, hysteric, his teeth showing in his excitement. Then, serious, his head tilting slightly to the side, eyes roaming Itachi's face as if searching for an answer to something. "I've been wondering, Itachi," Shisui leaned forward then until his lips touched Itachi's ear, his breath hot, face hidden. All Itachi could see was dancing shadows, his cousin and best friend a dark form leaning into him, pressing against his burning chest. He fought the growing darkness at the edge of his vision, uncertain whether it was caused by pain or if the forest was closing in around them.

"How much pain..." His voice husky, right hand landing on Itachi's chest right above his heart. He felt Shisui's tongue slowly lick his earlobe. He shivered, feeling fear gnawing at his insides, pain spreading further as he fought off the shock of the situation.

"How much pain will it take to break you?"

His mind raced as his hands went numb. He had to stay conscious, stay aware. Stay still. He would not let Shisui win, would not let him get what he wanted - whatever it was. He shut his eyes tightly, preparing himself for more torture, more pain, feeling Shisui's breathy hot laugh on his neck.

 

One deep breath, shaky, wrong. The second was better, more certain, more in control. The third had him relaxed, his shoulders slumping, head rolling slightly to the side - where was the pain?

 

Itachi opened his eyes, the forest dully lit but alive with sound in the early summer morning. He was alone, save for a raved perched on his right knee. Its head was cocked so it could stare up at him, its eyes dark and eerily focused on his own. It sat there for a moment, clicking its beak, staring into his eyes, nearly convincing him that it understood better than he ever could. Then it opened its beak and screamed, launching itself into the air, leaving him staring after it.

His leg was unharmed, his palms sweaty but unpinned. An odd chill was in the air - a storm on the way.

His dreams had never felt so real, so tangible. He sighed then stood, careful not to put too much weight on his left leg as he started to walk home. It took him a moment to correct his stride, reminding himself he was fine.

But his thigh ached from the ghost wound, and his heartbeat picked up, knowing he would see his torturer later that evening.

A petal, pink and white, floated in front of him, causing him to pause, Several more followed suit, landing on the naturally worn path before him. He stepped off the path to look where they came from, only taking him moments to find the source. A lone sakura stood hidden and dwarfed by oaks, its branches were cracked, the trunk covered with scratches and gouges. Yet its brilliant petals floated on the breeze anyway, unaware their tree was dying. Itachi placed a hand on the tree, feeling a faint pulse of chakra flowing through it, from its trunk to the tips of the branches above him and back.

'Spring came late for some.' He watched the petals dance around him, both at peace and uncomfortably aware of the world around him.

'And for some, never.'

He continued home, exhausted, feeling as if he hadn't slept at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the age thing mentioned between Itachi and Shisui... I'm trying to portray the senpai/kohai relationship there, though I'm not sure it is clear. Pretty much, Itachi was always seen as someone very proper, so I see him as someone who would be too keenly aware of his place in society. The relationships he would have would be kept properly even to the point of damaging that relationship. Even if Shisui sees them as friends, close friends at that, Itachi would see him as his senpai and not someone he could be truthful with. Instead, he would have to say/do the appropriate things, or what society would be okay with. Not sure if that makes any sense whatsoever, but that's how I'm portraying Itachi here: overly aware of his place in relationships to the point of remaining stagnate in them. One could say oblivious, but I'm pretty sure Itachi is aware of how others perceive him, but is unable to overcome the societal boundaries that he feels are in place.
> 
> Izumi Uchiha is a character mentioned in the novels written about Itachi's history, and I decided to bring her into this story after reading them. Some fans speculate that she was the "lover" mentioned by Masashi Kishimoto that Itachi killed during the Uchiha massacre, though I don't believe that theory has been approved or denied by him at this point in time. As far as her relationship with Itachi in this story, you'll have to wait for updates to find out. Call me River Song, cause spoilers ;)
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you guys think of the story so far. I still feel like this chapter was short, but it covered all I needed it to - maybe I should be more descriptive? Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope to have the next chapter up within a week or two :)
> 
>  
> 
> Japanese, in case someone doesn't know the romaji:
> 
> Otouto = little brother  
> Nii-san = big brother  
> Futon = it's the particular type of bed that they use. It's usually laid out on the floor.  
> Kunai = the knife/blade that you typically see the ninja in this show throwing around or stabbing things with  
> Sakura = cherry tree, not the character.  
> Ne = at the end of the sentence, it's kinda like "yeah?" like you're looking for the person you're speaking with to agree with you
> 
> I think that's all the Japanese I used. If not, feel free to either ask or google any I forgot.


End file.
